Cat Fight
by Regina the Queen of Random
Summary: There's something not quite right about Freddy's pet cat. Something all too. . . mutant.
1. Freddy's Pet Cat

Regina: Sorry to those of you who thought my next update would be Rome Reversal – but it's not. This is my newest story about Freddy and his. . . cat.  
  
I'll let you figure it all out, but for now, I have one thing to say: I do not own X-Men: Evolution, in any way, shape or form.  
  
Cat Fight  
  
Chapter One: Freddy's Pet Cat  
  
"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."  
  
"Kitty? Where?"  
  
"Calm down, Lance. Freddy's talking to the cat."  
  
"What cat?" asked Lance, confused, as he watched Freddy kneel down in front of his jeep.  
  
"Here, kitty," Freddy called again, and suddenly a cat raced out from behind the front wheel.  
  
"Kitty!" cried Freddy, scooping the cat up in his massive arms. "Come on," he said laughing, as the cat rubbed its golden head against his chin, "let's go get you some milk."  
  
"So that's where all our milk's been going, yo!"  
  
Having finished the milk, the cat purred with contentment on Freddy's lap.  
  
"Good kitty," crooned Freddy, scratching the cat behind the ears. The cat closed its emerald eyes with pleasure.  
  
"I don't see what you see in that stupid cat," Pietro commented.  
  
The cat immediately opened its eyes, and hissed at Pietro.  
  
"Don't worry," Freddy said to the cat, patting it again. "Don't let him bother you."  
  
The cat meowed once, then turned around, standing its front paws on Freddy's chest.  
  
Freddy laughed as it licked him on the nose.  
  
"Did you see that?" Pietro demanded of Lance and Todd. "That cat knew what I said!"  
  
"Don't be paranoid," Lance replied. "Let Freddy have his little pet."  
  
"You're just saying that because if he gets to play with that cat, you might get to play with your very own Kitty cat."  
  
Lance attempted to swat Pietro for the remark, but Pietro, being Pietro, quickly dodged it without much trouble. Lance ended up having to just shake his fist at Pietro, who was unfazed by all of Lance's threats.  
  
"Can I keep it?" asked Freddy, looking up at the other Brotherhood members.  
  
None of them had the heart to say no (Well, Pietro did, but he knew he'd be outvoted anyway. And then there was the likelihood that Freddy would wait until he was asleep, and then sit on him).  
  
"I can't tell him 'no', yo."  
  
"He might squash us when we're all sleeping." (No prizes for guessing who this was)  
  
Lance sighed. "Well, Freddy. You get to keep the cat. But," he added, cutting Freddy's smile off, "you have to take care of it all by yourself, understand."  
  
"Did you hear that, kitty?" Freddy asked the cat, as he hugged it. "You get to live here with me!"  
  
"Meow!"  
  
Pietro made his big mistake about three days later.  
  
It was a Sunday morning, and he had just vacated the bathroom, leaving enough hot water for each of the other Brotherhood members (not including Todd) to have a three second shower. For Freddy, this would have meant there was enough water to hit one shoulder - if he was lucky.  
  
The steam cleared as he stepped forth in (as he thought) all his glory out into the hallway.  
  
And that's when he saw the cat.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.  
  
"Meow," was the cat's only reply.  
  
"Like you're smart enough to understand what I said, let alone answer," Pietro said.  
  
The cat flattened its ears, and hissed at him.  
  
This made Pietro nervous, and he did what every arrogant person would have done when they felt threatened.  
  
He retaliated.  
  
He threw the first thing that came into his hand - his hand mirror - directly at the cat. With a yowl, it struck the cat in the middle of the back, and it fell to the ground. It didn't move.  
  
The sound of the cat brought Lance and Todd running. Lance was the first to see the cat.  
  
"Pietro! What did you do?!"  
  
"I don't know!"  
  
Todd then saw the cat, still unmoving, on the floor. "Freddy's gonna kill you for this, yo!"  
  
And that was when Freddy showed up.  
  
"What's all the noise?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Then: "My cat!"  
  
"Freddy, I'm sorry," Pietro said, "I didn't mean it."  
  
Freddy loomed over Pietro, his normally blank stare replaced with a murderous gaze. "You killed my cat."  
  
"And I'm sorry!"  
  
"You. Killed. My. Cat."  
  
Pietro cowered even further, faced with the angry behemoth.  
  
"You killed my cat!" Freddy roared.  
  
"I don't think it's dead, yo," Todd's voice interrupted.  
  
"What?!" asked Pietro. Lance shot him a look. "That's great!" Pietro added hastily.  
  
"I'm not so sure," replied Todd. "Look!"  
  
As the four teens stared in a combination of horror and amazement, the cat's fur began to recede, the ears slid down the side of its head, the tail disappeared into the body, and it began to grow in size. After about a minute, there was no trace of Freddy's pet cat.  
  
Instead, there was a teenage girl lying unconscious on the floor of the Brotherhood's house. 


	2. Meet Jasper

Regina: Well, here is chapter two of Cat Fight, the story of Freddy's pet cat, who, it turns out as a mutant. Of course she would be, would I really write a story about a cat that was normal in every way? Thought that would be your answer (here I am assuming you would be agreeing with me). Anyway, I'll just let you get on with this story, with a review request, and then another disclaimer.  
  
Review request: Please review.  
  
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing in this story. I have borrowed the characters for my own purpose, and that is to amuse and entertain. I make no money from this (sigh), so it's not worth suing me. To be precise, I do not own X-Men: Evolution, nor to I own Harry Potter, nor anything else I may have forgotten.  
  
Oh, and I know about Graydon Creed, in case you're wondering.  
  
Cat Fight  
  
Chapter Two: Meet Jasper  
  
"Hands up everyone who did not expect that."  
  
Every member of the Brotherhood put at least one hand up. Freddy put up two.  
  
"My cat's a. . . girl?"  
  
"You didn't bother to check?"  
  
"Pietro!"  
  
"My cat's a person?" Now Freddy was really confused. "How?!"  
  
"She's a mutant, that's how," replied Todd. "And Pietro just knocked her out."  
  
"How was I supposed to know?" Pietro said, in an attempt to defend himself. "It's not like she said, 'I'm actually a person who can become a cat.'"  
  
"How can you be sure?" asked a quiet voice. "For all you know, I could be a cat who can become a person."  
  
The Brotherhood looked at the girl, who, it appeared, was now conscious.  
  
"That was just mean," she continued, pushing herself up off the floor with her hands. As her back shifted position, she winced. "I was a cat, a poor defenceless cat," she said to Pietro, "and you threw a mirror at me."  
  
"A mirror?" asked Lance, trying - and failing - to keep from laughing. "You threw a mirror at a cat? What kind of girl are you?"  
  
"Hey! I find that offensive! Oh, and I'm sure the guy who threw the mirror at me feels the same way, too."  
  
Todd and Lance laughed. "I really like this cat now, yo!"  
  
"She's not a cat anymore," Lance reminded everyone. "So, cat-girl, do you have a name or what?"  
  
The cat-girl smiled. "'Course I do. Jas." She pronounced it as 'Jazz'.  
  
"Jas?" asked Freddy.  
  
"It's short for Jasper." The girl smiled. "A lot of cats are called that. What makes you think that I'm an exception?" Then she looked at Freddy. "Got milk?"  
  
Jas let out a sound which sounded like a distinct purr as she placed the empty glass, stained slightly white by the traces of milk left in it, on the table. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome," Lance said cautiously.  
  
Jas set her eyes on Lance. Her eyes were the same bright emerald colour that they had been when she was a cat, except the pupils were round now, not slits. Her hair, too, was the same gold colour she had been as a cat. It was not difficult to picture her as a cat. "Sorry about all the chaos I've been causing." She turned to look at Freddy. "And sorry about pretending to be your cat. But that's what cats do," she added with a shrug. "Feign affection to get things."  
  
"Feign?" asked Freddy, confused.  
  
"Fake," Pietro said, glaring at Jas.  
  
"Not that I was," Jas replied, glaring back at Pietro.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Where did you come from?" asked Lance, trying to prevent, for lack of a better term, cat fight.  
  
"Me?" Jas shrugged her shoulders in a very cat like way, moving them one at a time. "Nowhere in particular. Cats can live anywhere, and so can I."  
  
"When did you find out you were a mutant, yo?"  
  
"A what?" asked Jas, seemingly confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You don't know what a mutant is?" asked Pietro, laughing slightly. He stopped when Jas hissed at him. It seemed that she could do a lot of cat- like things in her 'human' form, like purr and hiss.  
  
"Genetic abnormalities, right?" asked Jas. "I took bio at school."  
  
"I guess," said Lance. "But the thing is, today there are people who are mutants, and they have special powers."  
  
"Like me turning into a cat?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Jas looked bored, and examined her fingernails. The boys' eyes widened as her nails appeared to extend and become cat's claws. She sheathed them again, then asked, "So you guys are mutants?"  
  
The boys all nodded.  
  
"So what can you do?" She looked at Pietro. "Do you have the power of super- human vanity?"  
  
"Shut up!" said Pietro, as Todd and Lance laughed, Todd nearly falling of his seat.  
  
"He doesn't," Lance replied.  
  
"He has super-speed," added Todd.  
  
"Really?" asked Jas. "Your girlfriends must hate that."  
  
"Shut up!" Pietro repeated, as Todd did fall off his chair this time.  
  
"All right," replied Jas in her bored tone. "What about you guys?" she asked Freddy, Lance and Todd.  
  
"I'm like a toad, Freddy over there's a big unhurtable blob, and Avalanche over there causes earthquakes, yo."  
  
"Avalanche? What, are we resorting to childish nicknames now?"  
  
Pietro shot Jas a look: he hadn't liked her as a cat, and he liked her even less now that she was a person. "They're mutant names, not human ones."  
  
"So what's yours then? Five seconds flat?"  
  
Todd just decided to stay on the floor this time.  
  
"No. Quicksilver."  
  
"Right. What about you guys?" she asked Todd and Freddy.  
  
"I'm Toad, and he's Blob."  
  
"Right." Jas looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "If there are mutants around, why haven't I heard of them?"  
  
"The humans don't know about us. We keep ourselves hidden."  
  
"Why didn't you think that you might be a mutant?" asked Pietro, trying to find a way to get his own back on the girl who had hit him where it hurt quite a few times in short space of time.  
  
"I didn't know that they existed," Jas replied. "I was thinking I might be an Animagus, though, like Professor McGonagall."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You haven't read the Harry Potter books?" Jas asked, disbelieving. "Professor McGonagall can turn herself into a cat."  
  
"And that's what you can do? Just turn yourself into a cat?" asked Pietro. "Sounds kind of pathetic to me."  
  
"Who said I can just turn myself into a cat?"  
  
"Whatever. I'm leaving." Pietro got up to go, but before he reached the door, his way was blocked.  
  
By a fully grown, female, Siberian tiger.  
  
Jas lashed her tail back and forth menacingly a few times, before quickly transforming back into a girl.  
  
"What do you think now?" she asked. "Good thing I can control the tiger's instincts, because it was thinking, 'dinner'."  
  
Pietro swallowed.  
  
"Yo! It's like Mystique and Sabertooth had a kid!"  
  
"Who are they?" asked Jas, turning away from Pietro.  
  
"Mystique is a shape-shifter, and Sabertooth is this big cat guy," explained Lance. "Mystique used to be the principal of the high school we go to."  
  
Jas nodded. "Bayville High. I saw the building on my way into town. I was thinking I might have to enrol there, if I was going to stay in this town for a while. And now I think I might," she added with a smile.  
  
"Where are you going to stay?" asked Pietro. "Not here!"  
  
"Oh, come on! If my taking up space is an issue, I'll just turn back into a cat, and sleep on the end of Freddy's bed. I've been doing it for the past few nights," she added.  
  
Lance, Todd and Freddy had no problem with this.  
  
Pietro, however, did.  
  
"Freddy's had a girl in his bed? Before me?!" 


	3. A Cat's Senses

**Regina:** I would just like to dedicate this chapter to all of my future pets: my cats, Bastet and Schroedinger; my rat, Splinter; my four turtles, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael; and my paper shredder.  
  
And this is also for A Pyro's Rage: thank you for your comment on Lance's description of Sabertooth (what, did you think he could come up with something better than 'a big cat guy'? That's how I would have done it!), and for a name for Jas to call Pietro.  
  
**Cat Fight  
**  
_Chapter Three: A Cat's Senses  
_  
"Jas, I was just wondering, yo, what're you gonna do about clothes?"  
  
"Elementary, my dear Toad. Change them every day."  
  
Pietro snorted. "Into what? You've only got the clothes you're wearing now."  
  
Jas looked down at herself. She was wearing the same blue jeans, sneakers and white T-shirt she had been wearing when she had reverted back to human form (luckily, when she transformed from human to cat, and vice-versa, her clothes shifted with her. A very useful thing in a house full of teenage boys, she had thought). Then she looked up again. "What makes you think these are the only clothes I have with me? I brought a few changes with me."  
  
"And where are they?" asked Pietro, not quite convinced.  
  
"I hid them out back. Want me to go get them?"  
  
"Nah, I'll go get them," replied Pietro.  
  
Jas made a face. "Do you want me to tell you where they are?"  
  
"Nah, don't think so." In a blur of silver he was gone, to return in a few seconds, a duffel bag in his arms. "This yours?" he asked, tossing the bag in front of Jas.  
  
"Thanks," Jas replied dully, before bending down to rummage through the bag, pulling out random articles, before replacing them. Finally she stood up. "Well, it looks as if I'm all ready for school tomorrow. How 'bout you guys?"  
  
None of the Brotherhood members made much effort to reply.  
  
"Fine then," said Jas, sounding slightly miffed. "I'm going to go get ready for school. I'm using the shower, so don't bother coming near it. I'm talking to you, Pietro."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
As Jas walked up the stairs on her way to get ready, Lance followed her with his eyes.  
  
When he was sure she was out of sight and earshot, he said to the other members of the Brotherhood, "Tomorrow is going to be interesting."  
  
Everyone agreed.  
  
"Well, it seems everything is in order, Ms. . . I'm sorry, I never caught your last name."  
  
"It's Howard. Jaspet Howard, Principal Kelly."  
  
"Yes," said Kelly, looking over the paperwork handed to him. "Jaspet. An unusual name."  
  
Jas laughed. "The family cat died three weeks before I was born. My mother was convinced that it was a sign, and named me after the cat." Jas shrugged. "It could have been worse. She could have called me Puss, or something."  
  
"You would have been in good company," replied Kelly, still reading the file. "A student here is called Kitty."  
  
"For real?" asked Jas, surprised.  
  
"Her real name is Katherine, but everyone calls her Kitty." Kelly closed the folder. "Well, we'll just have to wait until your record arrives from your previous school -" Jas went to speak, but Kelly stopped her. "Yes, I know that there may be some problem with that. Your parents' letter explains all that. And I know about your situation."  
  
"My - situation?"  
  
"Yes. Your parents are away on business, and regret that they cannot be with you to help you move into your new house, but say that they have left you in the care of a friend, who will take responsibility for you until they return."  
  
"Oh, thank you for being so understanding. I didn't want to have any problems. I just wanted to start school right away without any problems. Thank you again, Principal Kelly," said Jas, getting up from her chair and picking up the backpack she had found while rummaging around the Brotherhood's house.  
  
Suddenly Jas' ears twitched, and the door opened up. A red-headed girl was standing there in the door. "You wanted to see me, Principal Kelly?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, Ms Grey. This is Jaspet Howard, a transfer student. Ms Howard, this is Jean Grey, the star of our soccer team, and one of our top students. Ms Grey, could you be so kind as to show Ms Howard around on her first day? Thank you."  
  
"Of course, Principal Kelly. Come on, Jaspet."  
  
Jas followed Jean out the door, feeling slightly confused. She had thought it would be hard to get past Principal Kelly, yet, thanks to her, she had waltzed right in.  
  
Everything was going perfect.  
  
"She's good," Jas muttered to herself. "Very good."  
  
"So where did you transfer from?" asked Jean, as she and Jas walked along the corridor on Jas' tour of the school.  
  
"Oh, here and there," said Jas vaguely. "We move around a lot, my parents and me. We were last in Boston, before we came here."  
  
"Boston? Sounds nice."  
  
"Yes, it was. I hope Bayville is as nice." Inwardly, Jas grinned. This was one show she was putting on for this Jean Grey.  
  
"Me too," Jean said sincerely. Suddenly, she stopped. "Okay, here is your locker. My friend Kitty's is just a few lockers down. I'll introduce you if you want."  
  
"Thanks," said Jas, before opening the locker, using the combination that Kelly had given her, and throwing a few of her things inside. Then she pulled out her timetable.  
  
And frowned.  
  
"Confused?" asked Jean. "Let me take a look." Silently, Jas handed the piece of paper over.  
  
Jean nodded. "You've got some good teachers here. You're in Kitty's computer science class after lunch. I'll definitely intro-" Jean was cut off by the sound of the bell. "It's lunch now," she said. "Do you want to eat with me and my friends?"  
  
"Sure." Jas' voice was almost too cheerful. "That would be great."  
  
"Okay, then, follow me."  
  
Jas followed Jean as students began filing out of classrooms. One of them was Lance, who watched her, almost slightly amused as she followed Jean like a puppy. Or a kitten.  
  
Catching his glance, Jas stuck a finger down her throat, and made a silent gagging motion.  
  
Lance laughed.  
  
"Everyone, this is Jaspet," announced Jean as she and Jas arrived at the X- Men's usual table. "She's new here."  
  
"Hi," Jas said shyly.  
  
Kurt moved over to make room for the two of them. At Jean's urging, Jas sat directly next to Kurt. It was out of instinct more than anything that made Jas extend the claws on her right hand. There was something not quite right about Kurt, she could sense it. She had felt the same way about Jean, but whatever it was she was picking up from Kurt was much, much stronger.  
  
Luckily for Jas, her right hand had been in her pocket when she had extended her claws, otherwise the game would have been over right then and there.  
  
Jas tried to ignore what she was picking up - was it her imagination, or did the guy next to her smell like sulfur? - and listened to Jean as she was making her introductions.  
  
"That's Kurt," she said, referring to sulfur-guy, "Evan and Scott are over there, that's Kitty - the girl I was telling you about - and that's Rogue."  
  
"Hi," Jas repeated. Her senses were working overtime, picking up on that strange - yet familiar - thing that Kurt and the others seemed to giving off.  
  
Familiar.  
  
Now that was a thought.  
  
The Brotherhood gave her the same sort of feelings. Todd especially.  
  
Jean and the others were mutants!  
  
Lance and Todd had told her that there were other mutants at Bayville High - called the X-Men - but not mentioned exactly who they were. Pietro said it should be a surprise - as it was that way for them.  
  
Were these the X-Men?  
  
"So, Jaspet," asked the girl called Kitty. "Where abouts in Bayville do you live? Jean said that you're new here, from Boston."  
  
Kitty's question dragged Jas from her thoughts. "Nowhere special. A house. You know, four walls, a roof. Nothing too amazing. And you can call me Jas. What about you?"  
  
"Did you see that big building on top of the hill?" asked Evan. "We live there."  
  
"'We'?" asked Jas "You all live - together?"  
  
All of them nodded. "We live up at the Xavier Institute," explained Rogue.  
  
"It's like a boarding house," added Kitty. "Most of live a long way from Bayville."  
  
"Ja," interrupted Kurt. "I'm from Germany."  
  
Just then the bell sounded. Had it all gone so fast?  
  
"Come on," said Kitty, getting up from her seat. "We, like, don't want to be late for class."  
  
It turned out Kitty was quite nice - a little too 'Clueless' for Jas' taste - but still nice.  
  
So nice, in fact, that Jas found herself talking to Kitty as they left the school building at the end of the day.  
  
"So how are you getting home?" asked Jas  
  
"Scott'll give me a lift," Kitty replied. "How 'bout you?"  
  
Jas was about to reply, when she saw Lance waving from his jeep. Todd, Pietro and Freddy were with him. "Hey!" he called.  
  
Jas followed Kitty, who walked up to the jeep. "Hey, Lance," she said, smiling at the older teen.  
  
"Hey. You ready to go?" he asked.  
  
"Go where?" asked Kitty.  
  
"He wasn't talking to you, yo," interrupted Todd.  
  
"Then who?" asked Kitty, confused.  
  
"The other cat," replied Pietro, looking annoyed. "You ready to go?"  
  
"Hold your horses, Mr Quickie," said Jas. Turning to a very confused Kitty, Jas said, "Looks like my ride's here. See you tomorrow, Kitty."  
  
With that, Jas got into the jeep, sitting between Freddy and Todd, and waved goodbye. With a roar, the jeep drove off.  
  
Leaving a very confused Kitty in its dust. 


	4. Sekhmet

**Cat Fight**

_Chapter Four: Sekhmet_

"Did you see the look on her face? It was priceless!"

"I know, yo!"

Jas and Todd laughed, remembering how confused Kitty had been when she had been told that they were waiting for Jas, and not her.

"What's the matter, Lance?" asked Jas, noticing the strange look he was wearing.

"It's just - the X-Geeks aren't gonna like you hanging around with us."

Jas waved her hand dismissivly. "That's part of the fun. I mean, what girl doesn't hang out with a rebellious teenage guy at least once in her life." She grinned, baring two slightly-pointed teeth. "I just happen to be hanging with more than one, that's all." With that, she transformed into a cat, and leapt onto Freddy's lap. Her purrs could be heard by everyone as Freddy scratched her behind the ears.

Lance still seemed slightly worried. "I don't know what they're gonna do."

"Come on, Lance," Pietro replied. "Isn't it obvious? They're gonna worry about how we're corrupting this innocent girl, who obviously doesn't know the first thing about us, and then work out a plan to rescue her from us."

"Hole in one, yo!"

X X X

Pietro couldn't have been more right.

"I spoke to Jas, and she didn't seem like the kind of girl to hang with the Brotherhood," said Jean.

"She could just not know what they are," Xavier agreed.

"Or maybe she does."

"Are you saying she's a mutant?" asked Scott.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," replied Logan. "The Brotherhood would not take in some strange girl unless she could do something for them."

"Pietro might."

The laughter that followed this remark was cut short by Kitty running into the library where Xavier, Logan, Ororo, Jean and Scott were having their meeting.

"Professor! It's the Brotherhood!"

"What!" demanded Logan, immediately rising to his feet.

"They're here!"

Everybody except Professor Xavier leapt to their feet and ran out the door.

X X X 

"What are you doing here?" asked Shadowcat of the Brotherhood, as both teams stood facing each other on the sweeping lawns of the Xavier Institute, even though her question was mainly directed at Avalanche.

It was Quicksilver who retorted, "Still upset about this afternoon?"

Shadowcat shot him a look that could shatter a mirror into a thousand pieces.

"Maybe we should just get this over with, yo." Although normally such words would have, coming from Toad, have been said in fear, this time they carried a hint of anticipation, like some big surprise was about to be revealed.

"All right, then," Avalanche replied. "Quicksilver, if you would like to do the honours?"

Quicksilver needed no further prompting, and it was obvious that he was taking it all in his stride.

"Ladies and gentle-mutants! The Brotherhood of Mutants is proud to present its newest member, the one, the only. . . SEKHMET!" He gestured towards the treeline, as if this Sekhmet was about to make its debut from the trees.

"Is this some kind of joke?" demanded Wolverine. "'Cause if it is. . ." He trailed off as a pair of large yellow eyes appeared amongst the trees.

"Uh, guys?" The worry in Spyke's voice was obvious. "What is that?"

"Be careful what you say," Quicksilver warned. "She might just get. . . catty."

The Brotherhood began to roar with laughter.

"She? So it is Jasper!" exclaimed Jean.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Now tell her what she's one, yo!"

Quicksilver dashed forward, and before Jean could react, he was leaning on her

shoulder. "Well, Jean, your prize is. . . this! Jasper Howard, come on out!"

There were several gasps of shock and surprise as a sleek black panther made its way out of the trees, stopping at Avalanche's side. He seemed quite unconcerned that this was a dangerous wild animal; he even scratched it behind the ears, and it closed its eyes with pleasure.

"_That's_ Jasper Howard!" demanded Shadowcat. "But. . . _how_?"

"She used to be my pet cat," Blob said, as if that explained everything.

"And then she did this," Avalanche added, looking down at the panther.

The panther stepped forward, and began to change.

Fur began to recede, limb shrank and grew at the same time, the tail disappeared as though it was being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. At some point during the transformation, the thing that was half-panther, half-human rose to stand on two legs, but it did not falter – even half-and-half, it retained the perfect balance of a cat.

The paws enlarged, and from each one four long slender fingers and one thumb appeared. The soft pink nose protruded into a human one, as the whiskers retreated. Pink lips appeared, forming a human mouth that smiled as if it knew a secret. The ears became pink and human, sliding down from the top to the side of the head. Pale gold eyelashes appeared above the yellow eyes, replacing the disappearing black fur. All over the body the black fur grew inwards, and it revealed pink skin, short gold hair the same colour as the eyebrows and lashes, and sleek black fabric which hugged the body like a second skin.

The last things to change were the eyes, from wild yellow to dazzling green. Actually, that was the second to last thing. The last thing to actually change was the pupil of the eyes, from slits to round human ones.

The transformation was complete. Where a black panther had stood, in its place was Jasper Howard – or rather, Sekhmet, as it seemed she was calling herself.

Sekhmet curled her lip back over her teeth, which retained a hint of fangs. "Meow," she said sarcastically, drawing out the word.

"You must be Jasper Howard," said Wolverine. "Or rather, Sekhmet."

"Who were you expecting? Puss in Boots?"

The Brotherhood boys laughed. "Now you know why we're keeping her around, yo."

"At least, not why Quicksilver is!"

Sekhmet laughed. "Please. I have some integrity, you know. Although," she appeared thoughtful, "if I'm thinking of having cheetah cubs, I'll have to give you a call, Quicksilver."

"And that's why we might not keep her around, yo. Talk like that!"

"Sorry." Sekhmet looked down at the ground. Then she looked up.

"What's with the name Sekhmet?" asked Spyke.

"Well, Catwoman was already taken," Avalanche said.

"I don't wanna be sued for that. Stop that, you perve!" That last comment was aimed at Quicksilver. "Stop picturing me in that outfit and with that whip!" She turned to Avalanche and the others. "Can you take him anywhere?" Avalanche shook his head.

Sekhmet mimicked the motion. "I swear, he's worse than a tomcat surrounded by an army of female cats on heat!"

Everyone, X-Men and Brotherhood included, just stared. Sekhmet just waved the stares away. "Sorry, just speaking from personal experience."

There was a chorus of 'ew' and 'gross' and other disgusted noises from the teenagers. Even Storm and Wolverine seemed disturbed by her Sekhmet's comment.

"Again, sorry."

"So what were you saying about the name?" Nightcrawler asked, as there had been no real answer to Spyke asking the question earlier. Before the train of thought had been. . . diverted.

"Oh, right. Silly me, blonde as I am." She smiled her lazy, catlike snarl of a smile before continuing. "Sekhmet was an Egyptian goddess. The goddess of war and strife." She smile/snarled at Cyclops. "You and I have something in common, Cyclops. Oh, they told me about _all_ of you: Cyclops, whose gift is also his curse; Jean-Grey-the-mutant-without-a-name; Shadowcat – Avalanche couldn't _stop_ talking about you; Nightcrawler – Guten Tag; Spyke, who has a long history of rivalry with the only person here who can beat me in a sprint; Rogue, my predecessor as the sole female member of the Brotherhood; and the adults, Wolverine and Storm. How'd I do?"

"An A plus," Cyclops replied grimly.

"Nice to know that there is someone with a brain on the Brotherhood side," added Rogue.

"There was something else about the goddess Sekhmet that I forgot to mention," she said, cutting off the X-Men's laughter. "She was often represented as a lioness, or a woman with the head of a lioness."

Shadowcat laughed. "Now it makes sense!"

"There was something else that the boys told me," Sekhmet added. "They said that you guys have a little rivalry with my boys." There was nodding. "Well, let me tell you a little something about me. Just like Sekhmet, there is a little bit of a lioness in me, as well as every other cat you can think of, and the lioness is part of the pride – which she will fight to protect." She held out her hands, and bent her legs slightly, in the smallest of crouches. "And, like it or not, the Brotherhood is now my pride."

That was when she went into a cat-like leap/pounce, claws extended.


End file.
